Pebble was one of the first, if not the first smartwatch to hit the market, and sold well, particularly for the size of the company. It has shipped 1.8 million units to date, more than some smartwatches built by smartphone OEMs. However, with...

Nokia has undergone a major transformation over the past three years. It sold its device unit to Microsoft in 2013. In 2015, it sold HERE Maps to an automotive consortium. In 2016, Nokia has merged with Alcatel Lucent. And now it has acquired...

2016 will be the year when wristwatch makers will make their first real steps into the smartwatch game. Large watch manufacturers have utilised expertise from wearable technology companies to enter the smartwatch market at its nascent stage. Although some manufacturers dipped their toes in towards the end of 2015, 2016...

Samsung has committed to making the Gear S2 compatible with iOS by the end of the year. Samsung’s Tizen will become the last major smartwatch OS to support iOS devices with at least some basic functionality.
Samsung’s also announced two new finishes for the Gear S2 classic using rose gold and platinum. The finish is a plating...

The stigma around using artificial intelligence has led to the term ‘cognitive computing’. As excitement and, quite frankly, the need for data mining and analysis engines grows, it is being viewed differently by the healthcare community.
There are two reasons why cognitive computing will be welcomed in the healthcare market.

As Nariman Behravesh, lead economist with IHS, has noted “nurturing the process of innovation will ensure that the huge improvement in the human condition that has occurred over the past two centuries was not a fluke of history”. Indeed, nurturing innovation was the primary topic of conversation at Qualcomm Life Connect 2015 (Internet of Medical Things) held in San Diego during August 31 and September 1, 2015. With cautious optimism about short-term growth expectations for digital health, and more resolute optimism for growth in the long-term, the event brought together several key players in the digital health ecosystem that are making use of Qualcomm’s 2net/Healthy Circles connectivity platform. This article is a synopsis of Connect 2015 with additional insight from recent work that IHS has conducted in regard to digital health.

With the iPhone 6S, Apple has introduced many more innovations than it added with last years' iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Apple has performed the ultimate conjuring trick: Change everything about the iPhone, but make it look almost identical to the old model. As a result, IHS forecasts the magic of the iPhone business will continue to drive Apple.

This is not the first time that Google’s hardware is compatible with iOS. Google’s experiment with eye-wear, Google Glass, was also compatible with iPhones in addition to Android and offered very similar functionality.
This is a big step for the smartwatch industry. To date, iPhone users’ choices of smartwatches were limited...

Allowing Best Buy to stock the Apple Watch could expand Apple’s footprint to over 1200 retail locations. Best Buy has over 1000 stores in the United States, which is more than Apple’s 267 shops.. The initial agreement however only includes 300 stores in 2015. As a highly personal product with many strap options, potential customers...

Barclaycard, the UK card issuer of the Barclays banking group, is relaunching its bPay contactless payments system in July with three new NFC devices: an updated wristband, key fobs and stickers.
The service allows users from any bank with a UK-registered Visa or Master debit or credit card to add money to a pre-paid account online, from its mobile app, or set up auto top-up. At launch, payments will be limited to £20 but will rise to £30 in September when UK limits are raised.

EE is not the first company to try and market a camera as an accessory to a mobile consumer. HTC launched its Re camera last year, Sony had its attachable QX series lenses, and GoPro has been making action cameras since 2009.
EE is looking to ride the buzz that live streaming apps Periscope and Meerkat have generated. However, the lack of public broadcasting...

IHS analysis of the top performing US iPhone apps shows that Health & Fitness services have been quickest to market with Apple Watch apps. Overall an average of one in five of the top performing free, paid, and grossing iPhone apps are Apple Watch compatible.

Apple's launch approach with Apple Watch is unusual: With a total of 12 variants, and whole range of bands, the permutations are large, especially for an Apple product. And, Apple is choosing to make it available for sale exclusively online initially. Despite these issues, IHS expects the Apple Watch will be the best selling smartwatch of 2015. IHS forecasts Apple will ship...

Within six months of purchase, one-third of consumers put their wearable activity monitors in the sock drawer to never pick them up again. While this has been the general consensus of several user surveys, IHS does not believe this tells the full story surrounding engagement, nor does it serve as a predictor of future uptake for wearable monitoring.

The Apple Watch will come in two sizes (38mm and 42mm), three version (Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch, and Apple Watch Edition), and two colours per version for a total of 12 variants.
Prices for the Apple Watch will range from $349 for...

While everybody is still waiting for the Apple Watch the wearable conference which took place in Munich was a good display of new devices and trends with regard to use of sensors in wearables. Interestingly there were 2 separate sessions for “wrist-worn” wearable first and “head-worn” wearables... See subscriber comment...

Apple has overtaken former market leader Microsoft – which includes Nokia's devices unit – to become the second largest manufacturer of mobile handsets in the world. Nokia led the mobile handset market for over a decade but is now pushed out of the top two. Apple's record iPhone results are also entirely premium smartphones while Microsoft's smartphone shipments represent just 21% of its 50 million handset shipments.

Our take on the announcements arriving from Microsoft's Windows 10 conference: the newly-unveiled HoloLens is the most graphically rich and immersive augmented reality solution shown publicly by any major technology company. Its Minecraft-based builder demo shows the gaming potential of the new platform.

With the announcement of the MT2601 SoC at CES last week, MediaTek has entered the Android Wear powered wearable SoC competitive landscape. The smart watch market is primed for growth as product appeal has increased...

Apple launches its first wearable -- the Apple Watch -- as well as revitalizing its iPhone range and moving into mobile payments with Apple Pay. Apple's bold new products depend on the continued success of the iPhone to succeed, but with a 2015 availability data, Apple has many things still to do to finish its first generation smartwatch.